10 Ingredient Pantry Pasta Dish: Pasta with Kale, Garlic and Chiles

Picture 1 - Fryer chile flakes, garlic and capers

Picture 2 - Adding chopped fresh kale

Picture 3 - Addition of cooked pasta to pans with kale and 

A Pasta Dish Straight From the Pantry was posted in the New York Times April 9, 2013, written by Melissa Clark. It’s a version of a dish I’m certain many of us home cooks have in our virtual back pockets: some kind of pasta, with olive oil, some garlic, some kind of green and some kind of cheese - mine is with frozen peas. As a food allergy coach, I encourage my clients to have go-to dishes that are easy to make, free of their allergens and yummy.

This version of this basic recipe meets those criteria and I especially like it for the addition of frying the capers and the red chile flakes, two things I always have on hand and forget to use. Lemon at the end is a must – it brightens the kale and the lifts pasta.  I altered the recipe to suit my food allergies and food intolerance needs - I’m fish allergic and wheat intolerant and it called for wheat pasta and anchovies. Alter it to suit your own food allergy needs and pantry dinner is served in no time!


***

Pasta with Kale, Garlic and Chiles
Adapted from A Pasta Dish Straight From the Pantry by Melissa Clark
Yield 2 servings

Ingredients
Salt, as needed
1/2 pound pasta (I used Tinkyada organic rice pasta)
3 tablespoons good olive oil, more for drizzling
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, to taste
4 fat garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry with a paper towel to encourage   browning
1 small bunch kale, chopped (or use 3 large handfuls chopped kale)
Black pepper
Squeeze of lemon
Grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional and omit if dairy allergic)

Method
1. Bring a heavily salted pot of water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Add chiles and a pinch of salt and toast until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add smashed garlic and capers. (Picture 1.) Cook until everything is golden and the capers look crisp around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Add kale and 2 tablespoons of the pasta water and sauté until kale wilts and cooks in the pan and is well coated with oil, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Picture 2.)
4. Add drained pasta and toss well. (Picture 3.) Add salt and black pepper to taste. Serve with a squeeze of lemon. I like it with some grated Parmesan cheese, but it's not vital.